Frederick Allan Hartley Jr. (February 22, 1902 – May 11, 1969) was an American
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
from
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Hartley served ten terms in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
where he represented the New Jersey's 8th and New Jersey's 10th congressional districts. He is by far best known for being the House of Representatives sponsor of the
Taft–Hartley Act
The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of trade union, labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United S ...
in 1947.
Background
Hartley was born in
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City.
As of the 2 ...
, on February 22, 1902. After going through the Harrison public schools and
Rutgers Preparatory School
Rutgers Preparatory School (also known as Rutgers Prep or RPS) is a private, coeducational, college preparatory day school established in 1766. The school educates students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located on a campus along ...
for high school, Hartley went on to attend
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
. Following his studies in 1923, he successfully ran for the position of library commissioner for
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684, After holding that position for two years, Hartley was named as the police and fire commissioner for Kearny, a position he held until 1928. In that same year, he was nominated as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to run for the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
seat for New Jersey's 8th congressional district. Hartley defeated the incumbent Paul J. Moore in a close election on November 6, 1928. The final vote count in the election was 64,915 votes for Hartley and 64,594 for Moore, making the margin of defeat a slim 0.2%.
Politics
Hartley was sworn in at age twenty-seven as the youngest member of the
71st United States Congress
The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to Ma ...
on March 4, 1929. Hartley was again challenged by Paul J. Moore in the 1930 House elections for the seat in New Jersey's 8th district. In another close race, Hartley beat out Moore, capturing 44,038 votes, or 50.4% of the vote, in comparison to 43,195 votes (or 49.4%) of the vote for Moore.
He was one of a relatively small number of Republicans to hold their seats throughout the Great Depression and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. In the 1932 election, he defeated William W. Harrison for the House seat in New Jersey's 10th congressional district. and in the 1934 he beat William Herda Smith. Hartley had another close race in 1936, in which he beat out Democratic challenger Lindsay H. Rudd in a close 50.2%-49.6% race. Hartley soundly defeated Rudd again in 1938, and won re-election in 1940 against William W. Holmwood, in 1942 against Frederic Bigelow, in 1944 against Luke A. Kiernan Jr., and in 1946 against his future successor Peter W. Rodino Jr.
Taft–Hartley
Hartley found the level of postwar labor unrest to be very disturbing, and felt that it threatened both
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
and political stability. In 1946, the Republicans returned their first majority in both houses of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
since the 1928 election in which Hartley was first elected.
With his party in the majority, Hartley served as the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor in the
80th United States Congress
The 80th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947, ...
Robert A. Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...
who was chairman of the Labor and Public Welfare Committee, the next year he introduced legislation to curb what he felt were the worst of labor's excesses. The resultant
Taft–Hartley Act
The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of trade union, labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United S ...
was a major revision of the 1935 Wagner Act (officially known as the National Labor Relations Act) and represented the first major revision of a New Deal act passed by the post-war Congress. The act placed limits on labor tactics such as the secondary boycott, and gave each state the option to enact
right-to-work law
In the context of labor law in the United States, the term "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions which require employees who are not union members to contribute ...
s if it so chose (28 states have done so). This provision, known as Section 14(b), was one of the act's most controversial.
President
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* President (government title)
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Automobiles
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Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
ed the act, but Congress overrode the veto on June 23, 1947, with 20 of the 45 Democratic senators and 107 of the 188 Democratic representatives joining with Republicans to override the veto. It is in the platform of all major U.S. labor unions to call for the repeal of the act, especially Section 14 (b), and at times this has been reflected in the platform of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
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. However, the only time this has ever seemed likely was when the Democrats had a huge majority in both houses of Congress following the Republican electoral disaster of 1964. Even then, the repeal bill passed 221–203 in the House, but the two-thirds majority it needed in the Senate was never attained, partly because of long filibustering by Republicans such as
Senate Minority Leader
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
Everett Dirksen
Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician. A Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As Senate Minority Leader from 1959 u ...
. Labor allies failed to break the filibuster, and the repeal bill was withdrawn by the Democratic
Majority Leader
In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.
,
Mike Mansfield
Michael Joseph Mansfield (March 16, 1903 – October 5, 2001) was an American politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as a U.S. representative (1943–1953) and a U.S. senator (1953–1977) from Montana. He was the longest-serving Sen ...
, in 1966.
Hartley did not seek any further election to Congress following the term in which the act which bears his name was passed, and his service concluded on January 3, 1949.
Later life
Hartley ran unsuccessfully for one of the two
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
senatorial
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
seats in 1954 and he returned to New Jersey and lived for fifteen more years as a business consultant, seeing the act withstand its toughest test and remain intact.
He died in
Linwood, New Jersey
Linwood is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 7,092,Fairmount Cemetery, in
Newark
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* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
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* Niagara-on-the ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', May 29, 2003. Accessed September 1, 2014. "His father, Republican Rep. Fred Hartley, co-sponsored the Taft-Hartley Act of 1946, which allows a president to force striking or locked-out workers back to their jobs if the labor impasse is seen as endangering the national security or economy."